New allegations have arisen that the Vatican was aware of church complicity in the disappearance of thousands of dissidents during Argentina's "Dirty War" of 1976-1983.An article in the Argentine newspaper Página 12 on 6 May claimed the Argentine Bishops' Conference sent a secret letter to Pope Paul VI in April 1978.
The document detailed conversations between the president and vice presidents of the bishops' conference - Cardinal Raúl Primatesta, Juan Carlos Aramburu and Vicente Zazpe - with the head of the military junta, Jorge Videla.
Despite the horrors committed by the regime, Primatesta, who died in 2006, reportedly stated: "The Church wants to understand and cooperate" with the state.
In the letter the bishops report that the issue of "the disappeared" was raised at the meetings, during which the regime leader admitted the disappeared had been assassinated.